3,000 white crosses planted in Washington to bring attention to crime and race laws in South Africa

Lex Libertas and the New York Young Republican Club have joined forces to highlight violent crime, attacks on farming communities, and racial legislation in South Africa.

Dubbed the White Cross Project, it is an international awareness and mobilisation campaign to bring global attention to the crisis in South Africa.

Lex Libertas founder Ernst Roets explained that this campaign was needed as South Africa’s problems are misunderstood, ignored, or denied in international discourse.

At the centre of the campaign is a public vigil that will be held on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., where 3 000 white crosses will be displayed.

This vigil is in remembrance of the victims of farm attacks in South Africa, and it was accompanied by a public conference.

At this conference, where victims of farm attacks, land invasions, racial exclusion, and state failure in South Africa shared their testimonies.

“The memorial creates a powerful visual representation of the human cost of the crisis, and the conference provides substantial backing,” Roets said.

The campaign is supported by an international petition calling on the United States government to appoint a special envoy.

This special envoy, Roets said, should be dedicated to engaging with the Afrikaner community and other cultural minorities in South Africa.

This petition calls for decentralisation and self-governance as a legitimate and peaceful approach to addressing the country’s structural challenges.

Roets said that these self-governance reforms will help to foster dialogue on regional and cultural autonomy and protect communities from persecution.

“We believe such a step will support a viable, just, and free future for all peoples in South Africa,” he said.

Criticism of the White Cross Project

South Africa’s ambassador to the United States, Roelf Meyer, dismissed assertions that white farmers face political persecution.

He added that Roets’s White Cross campaign in Washington can harm discussions between the United States and South Africa.

“I had a meeting with Ernst Roets, leader of Lex Libertas. I am very concerned about the narrative being put forward by this group and its leader,” he said.

“It is misinforming the situation and is not based on facts when statements are made claiming there is political persecution and the confiscation of land.”

“We all know that is not true, but that is the narrative being carried through by this particular group.”

Meyer said that this was unfortunate as the United States administration might follow through on these misrepresentations of the situation.

“If punitive action is taken as a result, it will affect everyone in South Africa. It is not possible to take punitive actions against only a certain group,” he said.

“Particularly if punitive measures are taken at an economic level, it will affect each and every South African.”

Meyer said that it was important for the government, business, and civil society to come out strongly in opposition to this narrative and set the record straight about the reality.

He said that it was very hard to make any breakthrough with Roets. “He even denies the need for dialogue regarding the subject,” the Ambassador said.

“One aspect among the five or six points we addressed where we found common ground is how we prevent crime going forward.”

“Because crime affects everybody, there was at least a shared perspective on that point. So, hopefully, we won’t stop here.”

Meyer said that he believes that common sense will prevail, as he has seen so many times in his own experience long ago.

“We must just keep talking, maintain that dialogue, and do the same with the US administration,” he said.

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White Cross Project

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